Before you configure a Linked Mode group, consider the following issues.

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If you are upgrading a version 5.0.x vCenter Server that is part of a Linked Mode group, it will not be removed from the group. If you are upgrading a pre-5.0 vCenter Server that is part of a Linked Mode group, it will be removed from the group. vCenter Server does not support Linked Mode groups that contain both version 5.x and pre-5.0 versions of vCenter Server. Similarly, vCenter Server does not support Linked Mode groups that contain both version 5.1.x and 5.0.x versions of vCenter Server. vCenter Server 5.0.x can be joined in a Linked Mode group only with other instances of vCenter Server 5.0.x. vCenter Server 5.1.x can be joined in a Linked Mode group only with other instances of vCenter Server 5.1.x. After all vCenter Servers in the group are upgraded to version 5.0.x or all vCenter Servers in the group are upgraded to version 5.1.x, you can rejoin them.

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Each vCenter Server user sees the vCenter Server instances on which they have valid permissions.

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When you set up your vCenter Server Linked Mode group, you must install the first vCenter Server as a standalone instance because you do not yet have a remote vCenter Server machine to join. Subsequent vCenter Server instances can join the first vCenter Server or other vCenter Server instances that have joined the Linked Mode group.

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If you join a vCenter Server to a standalone instance that is not part of a domain, you must add the standalone instance to a domain and add a domain user as an administrator.

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The vCenter Server instances in a Linked Mode group do not need to have the same domain user login. The instances can run under different domain accounts. By default, they run as the LocalSystem account of the machine on which they are running, which means that they are different accounts.

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During vCenter Server installation, if you enter an IP address for the remote instance of vCenter Server, the installer converts it into a fully qualified domain name.

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Caution

If you need to uninstall and reinstall vCenter Server on more than one member of a Linked Mode group, do so with a single vCenter Server at a time. Uninstalling and reinstalling multiple linked vCenter Servers at the same time is not supported, and can cause errors that prevent vCenter Server from connecting to vCenter Inventory Service. If it is necessary to uninstall and reinstall multiple linked vCenter Servers at the same time, isolate them from the Linked Mode group first, and rejoin them to the Linked Mode group after the reinstallation is complete.